Martinez' miserable injury problem made third surgery necessary

Angel Martinez' miserable injury problem has forced the Spaniard to go under the knife for a third time since joining the Spireites last summer.
Chesterfield vs Port Vale - Injured pair Angel Martinez and Liam O'Neil - Pic By James WilliamsonChesterfield vs Port Vale - Injured pair Angel Martinez and Liam O'Neil - Pic By James Williamson
Chesterfield vs Port Vale - Injured pair Angel Martinez and Liam O'Neil - Pic By James Williamson

The midfielder has made it an unfortunate hat-trick of knee surgeries to correct an injury sustained in a training ground accident after just three appearances at the start of last season.

After missing the rest of the 2015/16 season, his rehabilitation suffered a setback with the news that he needed a second operation to clear out debris in his knee at the start of this summer.

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But the decision was taken to operate for a third time when he complained of pain in the joint.

Chesterfield’s head of sports science and medicine Rodger Wylde explained why another operation was necessary.

“Angel’s recovering from his second operation on the meniscus area, his third in total.

“The first meniscus operation three months ago was not successful and he required further surgery to repair the area.

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“Now the area looks and feels good so Angel’s in the process of four-weeks of strengthening, as well as gaining control of the knee again.

“That will take us to six weeks post-op and we would then progress to the critical stage of running, twisting, turning and functional activity - and that’s the acid test for this injury.”

Preparing Martinez for a return to competitive action will hinge on that ‘critical stage’ of his rehabilitation according to Wylde.

He said: “Psychologically for all of us we need to get past the stage we hit last time, the twisting and turning stage, where he felt pain. That’s always a critical stage in an operation on an ACL and the lateral ligament.”